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Hayoda is a strapping, outgoing young man with a flair for the dramatic. He grew up hearing many stories of his parents' heroic exploits during the war; this, together with his thrill-seeking nature, fostered an insatiable thirst for adventure. Although he's accompanied his mother and father on many visits to their old friends, traveling to all four corners of the earth in the process, he still feels that his life has been dull and unremarkable compared to the amazing experiences they'd already had before they were his age. Determined to make his mark on the world before it's too late, Hayoda gathered his friends and set off in search of fame and adventure.

Born and raised on Kyoshi Island by Suki and Sokka, Hayoda had a very active childhood. Even at a young age, he was constantly becoming involved in his father's wild schemes; that these exploits frequently ended in disaster did little to curb his irrepressible enthusiasm for novelty and excitement. His mother (always the more practical of his parents) quickly realized that it would be fruitless to try and keep him away from his father's risky plans and inventions; she settled for making sure that he knew how to take care of himself in sticky situations. She taught him the martial arts used by the Kyoshi Warriors, and prevailed upon Ty Lee to instruct him in acrobatics. As a result, Hayoda is an extremely fit and athletic teenager, more than capable of handling himself in a fight. This is a good thing for him, since his ability to get in trouble has only become more powerful as he grows older.

Hayoda feels overshadowed by his parents' fame, and that of their friends. He is also bothered by the fact that he's the only one of their children who isn't a bender. His craving for adventure and excitement are by no means purely motivated by overcompensation, but it is an undeniable influence on his personality.

Hayoda's best friends have always been his cousin Tseng, and the Fire Princess, Irah. He considers it his personal mission to get Tseng to loosen up and enjoy life more; though he would never admit it, and probably doesn't even consciously realize it, the pragmatic Water Tribe boy also makes a good counterbalance to his own freewheeling recklessness. Hayoda considers Tseng his trusty sidekick, and routinely enlists him to help get his harebrained schemes off the ground.

When they were small children, Hayoda and Irah often played make-believe together; he was usually the dashing hero, saving her from all manner of peril. Hayoda still loves showing off in front of Irah, and often acts protective towards her, even though he knows she is quite able to take care of herself. Recently, romance seems to have bloomed between them, albeit hampered by the subsconscious influence of their old hero/damsel roles, which do not reflect their actual relationship very well.

Hayoda is also very attached to his younger sister, Yue. He is very protective of the quiet Earthbender girl, although her retiring nature sometimes causes him to forget about her as he storms off in pursuit of his latest adventure.

Hayoda does not get along well with his cousin Yi Lin. He thinks that the carefree young Airbender is an empty-headed idiot who never treats adventure with the seriousness it deserves. Her tendency of popping up in the middle of potentially romantic moments between him and Irah also aggravates him, as does her steadfast insistence that he and the princess should not, will not, and in fact cannot be romantically interested in each other.

Hayoda's early character designs had him wearing Kyoshi-style eye makeup, both as a reference to his upbringing and to Cpt. Jack Sparrow of Pirates of the Caribbean fame.

Hayoda was originally drawn with green eyes, but they were changed to blue after it was pointed out that both his parents are blue-eyed.

The earliest threads about Hayoda (when he was still "Sukka's older son") mentioned that he had had a little crush on Toph, kind of like a crush on a teacher in school. While part of his early teens, as he just started to notice women, would have him in awe of Toph's power as she attempts to train Yue in Earthbending, it eventually faded away in later discussions. At this point, it's just one of those Embarrassing Stories from Childhood that parents always tell when you're a teenager.

Due to the fact that the Gaang Jr. series is run only by a conglomeration of enthusiastic fans, the character personalities were made to be general and open to interpretation. For all of those who are curious or wishing for a more in-depth analysis of the characters, these interpretations have been pulled from the Gaang Jr. discussion board for your connivence. By no means are these interpretations final or even correct. They are simply a resource for any who wish to use them.

At first it was easy to just think of him as a guy with something to prove, hoping to live out the childhood adventures he felt were owed to him due to his heritage, and being forced to do so now he was reaching the cusp of adulthood. I guess there is even some truth in that, too. I also don’t think it a stretch to believe that Hayoda has some fighting capability issues from being surrounded by benders (much like his dad)...although honestly, I think that’s probably all in his head; judging from his teachers I’d say he’s got the skill-set to take on top-tier benders just as well as, say, Irah.
I think the most important thing to remember when writing Hayoda, though, is to remember that he’s not really putting on a show. Unlike lots of other outspoken, brash and reckless characters, he’s not JUST doing it to put up a front to others, he really does have all that confidence and all that ability, even if, at times, he forgets it. You get what you see with Hayoda, and all his hidden depths and worries don’t tend to stem from him worrying about not being strong enough, but rather the consequences of his actions.
As far as his leadership abilities go, I think Hayoda has it down to a fine art. He’s got the confidence, and although he can get abrasive and fall out with his crew he has probably the most appreciation of their unity as a group, meaning he knows when his crew needs leadership, and what he needs to do to rally them to listen. He has the right amount of conviction to make it happen.
I believe I wrote a story once where he cited his reason for going on this adventure as being that he wanted everyone in the crew to have an adventure TOGETHER, and that it would be something to bring them closer to each other and something they’d remember fondly for the rest of their lives. That, I feel, is the kind of sentiment that exists at the core of Hayoda. The whole ‘let’s adventure while we still can!’ might add incentive, but the REASON for the adventure, and for anything Hayoda does, is about being awesome, and sharing that awesome

With him, what you see is what you get. Hayoda’s really a very straightforward kind of guy. I’ve always pictured him, at least at the start of the adventures, as a naïve, less skeptical version of his father, mostly due to the fact that he’s grown up in a time of peace. As the adventures go on, I think he sheds that a little bit as he learns more about the way the world works, but he still holds himself to the codes of honor and heroism that he got from the stories, because that’s who he is. Hayoda enjoys the bravado. He may not always think things through all the way, but he’s exceptionally loyal, and would do anything for his family or friends. When it comes down to it, his role as leader is mostly due to this loyalty, and not because of any particular skills, though I do agree that at this point, he knows exactly how to use each member of his team in the best possible way.
Personally, I think the only real insecurities that Hayoda suffers from have to do with growing up. Sometimes, I think he worries about missing out on something, not just for himself, but also for his friends. And I think he sees adulthood as some kind of ticking time bomb. He sees all these things his parents did as kids, and has sort of subconsciously set these deadlines for himself that he has to achieve. I think part of the reason for his troubles with developing his relationship with Irah stems with not wanting things to change and move on towards adulthood.

The Gaang Jr. set sail to find the Sword and the Boomerang with Toph and Tom Tom in hot pursuit. However, they aren't the only ones looking for the items, and as details of what happened to the airship crews during Sozin’s Comet emerge Hayoda and Irah start to wonder about their parents, and whether crazy adventures really were the harmless fun they had thought them to be...